DENVER — With a red flag warning in place until Tuesday evening, fire officials took the opportunity to stress the importance of fire mitigation to help keep your home safe from danger. It’s time to be ready for wildfire season.
Colorado’s mountains are still snow-capped, but farther east everything is a lot drier.
“The snow piles melt and in those snow piles are leaves and they tend to settle out and they’re very dry and ready to be ignited,” said North Metro Fire and Rescue’s Steve Gosselin.
In the right conditions, dry piles of leaves or grass can fuel massive wildfires.
“It’s that right blend of high winds, low humidity, temperature and moisture content of the fuels,” Gosselin says.
Weather conditions have triggered red flag warnings for most of Colorado east of Interstate 25 for Tuesday. Fire officials in the Denver metro area have not issued any burn bans, but are urging people to take extra precautions.
Denver is part of the red flag warning the National Weather Service issued which goes into effect at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Here are some valuable tips to help protect your home from wildfire:
- Keep piles of firewood at least 30 feet away from your home
- Rake up leaves that have settled in your yard over the winter
- Clean out your gutters
- Douse cigarettes with water when you’re finished
- Dispose of cigarette butts in water or sand
- Pour water over fire pits and stir the ashes